Athletic Shoe Device

ABSTRACT

An athletic shoe device for facilitates gripping of a sole on slippery surfaces encountered while playing paintball or other sports. The device includes a sole and an upper. The sole has a bottom surface, a lateral face, a toe, and a medial face. The bottom surface of the sole also has a rear section and a front section. The upper is coupled to and extends from the sole defining an interior space configured for receiving a foot. A plurality of ridges is coupled to and extends from the bottom surface of the sole. A length of the ridges coupled to and extending from the front section of the bottom surface is greater than a length of the ridges coupled to and extending from the rear section of the bottom surface of the sole.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Field of the Disclosure

The disclosure relates to shoe devices and more particularly pertains toa new shoe device for facilitating gripping of a sole on slipperysurfaces encountered while playing paintball or other sports.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above bygenerally comprising a sole and an upper. The sole has a bottom surface,a lateral face, a toe, and a medial face. The bottom surface of the solealso has a rear section and a front section. The upper is coupled to andextends from the sole defining an interior space configured forreceiving a foot. A plurality of ridges is coupled to and extends fromthe bottom surface of the sole. A length of the ridges coupled to andextending from the front section of the bottom surface is greater than alength of the ridges coupled to and extending from the rear section ofthe bottom surface of the sole.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the disclosure in order that the detailed descriptionthereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that thepresent contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There areadditional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafterand which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features ofnovelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisdisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than thoseset forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to thefollowing detailed description thereof. Such description makes referenceto the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top front lateral side perspective view of a athletic shoedevice according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a medial side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosuretaken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a top front side view of an embodiment of the disclosure inuse.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through6 thereof, a new shoe device embodying the principles and concepts of anembodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the referencenumeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6, the athletic shoe device 10generally comprises a sole 12 coupled to an upper 14. The sole 12 has abottom surface 16, a lateral face 18 configured to face outwardly on afoot 32, a toe 20 covering toes of the foot 32, and a medial face 22positioned to face inwardly on the foot 32. The bottom surface 16 of thesole 12 also has a rear section 24 and a front section 26. The lateralface 18 of the sole 12 extends upwardly from the bottom surface 16 ofthe sole 12 wherein the lateral face 18 is configured to extend over alateral side 30 of the foot 32 inserted into the upper 14. The medialface 22 of the sole 12 extends upwardly from the bottom surface 16 ofthe sole 12 wherein the medial face 22 is configured to extend over amedial side 36 of the foot 32 inserted into the upper 14. The upper 14is coupled to and extends from the sole 12 defining an interior space 38configured for receiving the foot 32 in a manner securing the sole 12substantially under the foot 32.

A plurality of ridges 40 is coupled to and extends from the bottomsurface 16 of the sole 12. Each of the ridges 40 has a length extendingtransversely from the bottom surface 16. The length of the ridges 40coupled to and extending from the front section 26 of the bottom surface16 is greater than the length of the ridges 40 coupled to and extendingfrom the rear section 24 of the bottom surface 16 of the sole 12. Thus,traction is most enhanced nearer the toe 20 in the front section 26which is more frequently used for pivoting, pushing off, and quickmovements during athletic activity such as participating in paintballcombat games or simulations. A plurality of indentations 42 may alsoextend into the sole 12 on the bottom surface 16 defining a strip 44extending along a perimeter edge 46 of the front section 26 of thebottom surface 16 of the sole 12.

An outer surface 48 of the medial face 22, the toe 20, and the lateralface 18 may be constructed of a tactile material such as rubber, or thelike, wherein the sole 12 is configured to enhance friction between anextrinsic surface 50 and each of the lateral face 18, the medial face22, and the toe 20 as typically occurs while crawling, strafing,climbing, or otherwise trying to move with speed and/or stealth in acombat simulating situation.

Spacing 52 between the ridges 40 coupled to and extending from the frontsection 24 of the bottom surface 16 may be greater than spacing 54between the ridges 40 coupled to and extending from the rear section 26of the bottom surface 16 of the sole 12 to further enhance traction andopportunity for the ridges 40 coupled to and extending from the frontsection 26 to take hold on a surface.

An opening 56 extends through the upper 14 configured for receiving thefoot 32 therethrough wherein the foot 32 is positioned in the interiorspace 38. A slit 58 may extend from the opening 56 through the upper 14towards the toe 20. Thus, the upper 14 is configured for facilitatinginsertion of the foot 32 through the opening 56. A tongue 60 may becoupled to the upper 14 and aligned with the slit 58 such that the slit58 overlaps the tongue 60. Laces 62 may be threaded along the slit 58over the tongue 60 to secure the device 10 on the foot 32. A sleeve 64may be coupled to the upper 14 lining the interior space 38 for enhancedcomfort and to facilitate wearing of the device 10 without a separatesock.

The device 10 may also include a padded bed 66 positioned over a support68 coupled to a top surface 70 of the sole 12. The upper 14 may extendover the top surface 70 of the sole such that the support 68 is insetand substantially a smooth continuation of the upper 14 across the topsurface 70 of the sole 12. The bed 66 may overlap inwardly turnedportions 72 of the upper 14.

In use, the device 10 is provided in a pair to be placed on each of aperson's feet. The device 10 is secured to each foot 32 and is wornwhile participating in paintball. The configuration of the sole 12 andextension of the sole 12 in the lateral face 18, toe 20 and medial face22 compared to conventional footwear promotes traction and durability ofthe device for motions and use consistent with the particular demands ofsimulated combat activities.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized thatthe optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodimentenabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials,shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, aredeemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and allequivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings anddescribed in the specification are intended to be encompassed by anembodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of thedisclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used inits non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word areincluded, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. Areference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not excludethe possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless thecontext clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.

I claim:
 1. An athletic shoe device comprising: a sole, said sole having a bottom surface, a lateral face, a toe, and a medial face, said bottom surface of said sole having a rear section and a front section; an upper coupled to and extending from said sole defining an interior space configured for receiving a foot; and a plurality of ridges coupled to and extending from said bottom surface of said sole, each of said ridges having a length extending transversely from said bottom surface, said length of said ridges coupled to and extending from said front section of said bottom surface being greater than said length of said ridges coupled to and extending from said rear section of said bottom surface of said sole.
 2. The device of claim 1, further comprising said lateral face of said sole extending upwardly from said bottom surface of said sole wherein said lateral face is configured to extend over a lateral side of a foot inserted into said upper.
 3. The device of claim 1, further comprising said medial face of said sole extending upwardly from said bottom surface of said sole wherein said medial face is configured to extend over a lateral side of the foot inserted into said upper.
 4. The device of claim 1, further comprising an outer surface of said medial face, said toe, and said lateral face being constructed of a tactile material wherein said sole is configured to enhance friction between an extrinsic surface and said lateral face, said medial face, and said toe.
 5. The device of claim 1, further comprising spacing between said ridges coupled to and extending from said front section of said bottom surface being greater than spacing between said ridges coupled to and extending from said rear section of said bottom surface of said sole.
 6. The device of claim 1, further comprising: an opening extending through said upper configured for receiving a foot therethrough wherein said foot is positioned in said interior space; a slit extending from said opening wherein said upper is configured for facilitating insertion of the foot through said opening; and a tongue coupled to said upper, said tongue being aligned with said slit.
 7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a sleeve coupled to said upper, said sleeve lining said interior space.
 8. The device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of indentations into said sole defining a strip extending along a perimeter edge of said front section of said bottom surface of said sole.
 9. An athletic shoe device comprising: a sole, said sole having a bottom surface, a lateral face, a toe, and a medial face, said bottom surface of said sole having a rear section and a front section, said lateral face of said sole extending upwardly from said bottom surface of said sole wherein said lateral face is configured to extend over a lateral side of a foot inserted into said upper, said medial face of said sole extending upwardly from said bottom surface of said sole wherein said medial face is configured to extend over a lateral side of the foot inserted into said upper; an upper coupled to and extending from said sole defining an interior space configured for receiving a foot; a plurality of ridges coupled to and extending from said bottom surface of said sole, each of said ridges having a length extending transversely from said bottom surface, said length of said ridges coupled to and extending from said front section of said bottom surface being greater than said length of said ridges coupled to and extending from said rear section of said bottom surface of said sole; a plurality of indentations into said sole defining a strip extending along a perimeter edge of said front section of said bottom surface of said sole; an outer surface of said medial face, said toe, and said lateral face being constructed of a tactile material wherein said sole is configured to enhance friction between an extrinsic surface and said lateral face, said medial face, and said toe; spacing between said ridges coupled to and extending from said front section of said bottom surface being greater than spacing between said ridges coupled to and extending from said rear section of said bottom surface of said sole; an opening extending through said upper configured for receiving a foot therethrough wherein said foot is positioned in said interior space; a slit extending from said opening wherein said upper is configured for facilitating insertion of the foot through said opening; a tongue coupled to said upper, said tongue being aligned with said slit; and a sleeve coupled to said upper, said sleeve lining said interior space. 